Glasshouse

Here is this week's Glasshouse

ISSUE DATE: Oct 14, 2024

Order, order

Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has always been a stickler for courtroom decorum, making it clear that the hallowed chambers are no place for shoddy behaviour. On September 30, when a petitioner replied “yeah” at a hearing, the CJI retorted, “This is a court, not a coffee shop. I am a little allergic to peo­ple saying yeah.” In July, a senior counsel who kept interr­up­ting another mid-argument almost found himself escorted out: “You will not add­ress the gallery. Summon security.” In January, another lawyer who raised his voice got a sharp rebuke: “Lower your pitch. This has not happened in 23 years of my career, and it will not happen in my last year.” Last year, the CJI even ordered a lawyer’s mobile phone confiscated: “Is this a market that you are talking on the phone?” As the CJI has said many a time—the apex court is a sanctuary of the law, and it demands respect.

Curbed Enthusiasm

As though the Trinamool Congress did not already have enough on its hands with the RG Kar rape and murder case, it now finds two of its former student leaders adding fuel to the fire. TMC members Prantik Chakraborty and his wife Rajanya Halder are producing a short film on the gruesome incident. When the film’s posters were released, the party quickly stepped in to contain the fallout, suspending both and distancing itself from the project. The film was to be released on YouTube, but has now been “postponed”, though Prantik urged the party to respect his “artistic mind”. But at a time when CM Mamata Banerjee is trying to position herself as the saviour of flood-hit Bengal, such ‘artistic efforts’ are unlikely to be condoned.

Peruvian Blunder

Machu Picchu in Peru via Vande Bharat? Social media let out a collective gasp on Sept­ember 27, World Tourism Day, when railways minister Ash­w­ini Vaishnaw shared a video praising the superfast train service. Nothing unusual until a blink-and-you-miss-it clip showed a train with ‘Peru Rail’ prominently displayed. That was enough for critics to crank up the mocking memes train. It turns out the age­ncy behind the video needs less­ons in identifying locomotives. For now, the Railw­ays has vowed to cut ties with them for good.

Soccer Showdown

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has decided it’s time to kick things up a notch on the field. Chief rival and Samajwadi Party lea­der Akhilesh Yadav’s love for football is well known--and well doc­u­mented on social media—but now Yogi seems to have ‘nut­m­eg­ged’ him. On September 2, the CM kicked off an exhibition match between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in Lucknow, a prel­ude to announcements of building football grounds at every UP com­missioner HQ and “1,000 mini stadiums across the state”. To add some Euro flair, Yogi’s regime has also signed a deal with Sweden’s Supercoach Aca­demy to launch ‘The Game Changer’ pro­ject, aimed at “training 13.5 million students in one year”. May the best team win.

Under Watch

On September 27, Congress leader and Tela­ngana revenue minister P. Srinivasa Reddy became the first in the cabinet to be raided by the Enforcement Directorate. The ED cond­ucted searches at 16 locations, including his residence and the family-owned Ragh­ava Constructions group offices, but remained tight-lipped about any incriminating findings. However, it has emerged that smuggled luxury watches—such as a Patek Philippe 5740 and a Breguet 2759—worth Rs 1.7 crore, seized at Chennai airport on February 7, were allegedly destined for his son, Harsha Reddy, procured apparently via illegal money transfers. Reddy has denied the charge. Only time will tell the truth.

—with Arkamoy Datta Majumdar, Avishek G. Dastidar, Amarnath K. Menon and Ashish Misra